Melodies & Marauders
by elliehigginbottom
Summary: Lily Evans is a songwriter with horrible stage fright. James Potter is a singer and musician who loves to perform. Put them together and sparks fly! If only the two teenagers could tell each other how they feel. What more could you be looking for than an AU Austin & Ally inspired Jily fic?
1. Chapter 1

_Authors Note: I am so happy to start posting this story. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun writing or it coming this easily. If no one else likes it, I think the joy that writing this has brought me will be enough to fill me up for quite some time. Life's been kind of hard lately, and I've been in no mood to write my usual angst. I've been knee deep in jily fluff and reading far too much GhostofBambi, Cgner, and petalstofish in order brighten my mood. So you'll likely find this story somewhat reminiscent of their styles. Although not at all as good or even in the same stratosphere of their works. Some elements are also inspired by Graeliars' Scorose masterpiece This Is(NT) Acting. Go read their stuff._

 _So, how did a grown woman find herself creating Jily fanfic based on the tween disney show Austin & Ally that she didn't even know existed until it had been off the air for two years? Younger sisters-in-law, whom I was hanging out with and who decided to explain in great detail their favorite show. I don't know what it was about their description that screamed James Potter and Lily Evans, but that's how my mind works. I've done an embarrassing amount of research on the show's plot, and done my best to watch as few episodes as possible while gaining the overall feel of the show. I've also had to research how twitter, tumblr, and instagroan work because I am a social media hermit. There might also be some formatting strangeness, as I've tried recreate some social media in this fic. I don't think you need to have watched the show to understand this story, but if you are an A&A fan, this is story is taking place near the end of season 2 around the Chapters & Choices episode. Suspend your disbelief that all of these fantastic things are happening to regular high school kids who are continuing to attend high school. Also you'll find this is not as squeaky clean as a disney show._

 _I hope you have half the fun reading this as I have writing it. I know some readers are here because you follow my Harry and Ginny stories of yesteryear. All I can say is that WSaMo is not abandoned but I have no time frame of when it will be updated, sometimes I think lightning will have to strike to get the story back on track. If you want to say something about my previous stories, PLEASE also review this one as well._

 _And the obligatory I don't own anything in this story and all harry potter related stuff is JK Rowlings and all Austin & Ally things are Disney Channels...i think. _

* * *

**J & L**

Text received from: James Potter

Sent to: Lily Evans on Thursday March 17th, 07:47AM

…

JP: Evans where are you?

i have a new idea for a song

also you're going to be late for class

you sick?

JE: No. not sick. Just running behind.

My alarm didn't go off and I can't find my trig homework anywhere!

JP: shite! i meant to text you

you left it at my place last night

i have it

sorry!

LE: POTTER!

JP: I'M SORRY!

LE: Ugh, It's fine. I'm just still recovering from my PANIC ATTACK.

Okay, heading out the door now.

Don't make fun of me when you see me.

Just remember I was running late and it's YOUR fault.

JP: i would never!

besides you're always beautiful

even when you don't think you are

LE: Don't think flattery will make me forget about my pilfered trigonometry homework!

JP: now i'm insulted

i've never PILFERED anything in my life!

also what does pilfered mean...

...

James stuffed his phone into his pocket with a satisfied smile. Glad to know that she was okay, and even more pleased with himself that he'd been able to get away with telling her she was beautiful, even though she'd probably tell him off when she got to school. It might be his favorite thing, making Lily Evans blush. He was getting entirely too addicted to it.

The tall boy let out a long sigh, running a hopeless hand through his chaotic dark hair, he pulled his textbook out of his locker and stuffed it into his bag. He needed to get a grip and soon.

Shutting his locker, he headed down the hall towards his first period class. He found Sirius and Mary just outside the classroom. The pair were already deep into a debate over where the best make-out spot in school happened to be. James shook his head. It was always something with those two.

James thought it was sexual frustration, but every time he brought up the notion to his best mate, the same sentiment was shoved back in face about he and Lily. So James now left it well enough alone.

'Where's Lily?' asked Mary a bit worriedly, noting her absent friend as James approached. 'She's never late for class.'

'She should be here soon,' he answered with a shrug, 'her alarm didn't go off.'

'You know, I don't think I've ever gotten to school _before_ Evans,' commented Sirius, the very idea seeming disgusting to him. 'I think I'll need to get a detention to bring the universe back into balance.'

Mary just rolled her eyes before landing on an approaching figure, her jaw dropping to the floor. 'Lily, are you sure you're okay?' the shorter girl squealed, and it was then that James noticed the girl in question making their way towards them.

Lily had her head down, her hand covering her face as she pushed through the crowded hallway. He didn't quite understand the dramatic tone of Mary's question, until Lily finally came to stand in front of them.

Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was wearing _glasses_. How had he known her for so long and not known that she wore glasses?! Her usually pristine uniform was haphazard, but what was more jarring than the spectacles was that over it all she was wearing _his_ blue zip-up hoodie. The one he'd let her borrow the night before when they were studying at his place and she'd gotten cold.

She looked… bloody gorgeous.

James felt the wiring in his brain short-circuit as he stared at her. The jacket was way too big on her, and seeing her petite form in it was bringing an all too familiar swooping sensation to his stomach. A sensation he'd been keenly ignoring for months now.

'What?'

It was Lily. She was looking at him warningly, obviously bracing herself for whatever snarky comment she expected him to make. James found that the only sound he could trust himself to make was a clearing of his throat. He helplessly looked round at anything other than the girl, who was currently wearing his clothing, and noticed Sirius' knowing smirk. His best mate was convinced that he and Lily were meant to be, and took great pride when he thought he was proved right.

'You think I look like a loon, don't you,' Lily supplied crossing her arms angrily in front of her chest.

James, let out a nervous chuckle and was grateful that he could actually answer this question honestly. 'No,' he choked out, clearing his throat once more, before continuing more confidently, 'That is definitely _not_ what I was thinking.'

Sirius' grin only grew wider, and James sent a warning look his way. But he was ignored as usual, when Sirius spoke, 'Lily, how have we never seen you with your glasses? And is that James' hoodie?"

The messy-haired boy felt his heart start to race, and ran a nervous hand through his hair. However Lily just groaned, letting her head fall forward. "I know! I hate these things!,' she told them, taking off the glasses and handing them to Sirius to inspect closer.

He put them on and immediately went cross-eyed. 'Lily, are you legally blind?'

'No, not quite," she defended, swiping the frames back and putting them on again.

'Leave her alone about the glasses," interjected Mary, protectively. Her dark brown curls bouncing in her fervor. 'I've been telling her for years that they look good, but will she listen?'

Sirius just shook his head and tsked, sympathizing with the idea of a best friend ignoring sound advice.

James knew that he and Lily were sending them both matching looks. Turning away from the haughty pair, Lily added to James more quietly, 'And sorry about wearing your jacket.' She had another pretty blush blooming on her cheeks, as she quickly explained, 'I meant to bring it today since I wore it home last night, but in the rush to get out the door it was the closest thing to throw on. Here,' she started, and to James' keen disappointment, she started to take it off.

However, this action quickly led to James' teenage brain's supreme delight because without the jacket to cover her, he could easily make out the black bra she was wearing under her wrinkled white button up.

'No,' he swallowed thickly, and despite his body's baser protestations, he took hold of the jacket and pulled the fabric back over her shoulder. 'Keep it today. It's cold.'

Lily's green eyes softened in relief. 'Thanks James, it's freezing and you're the best,' she told him gratefully, pulling him into a hug.

They hugged a lot.

'Your honesty has always been a mark to your character. I _am_ the best,' he tutted, earning himself an elbow to his ribs and one of her infamous eye rolls, but she stayed under his arm, allowing him to usher into class to take their seats. 'Besides, due to my excellent taste, my clothes look great on you,' he added loftily, letting her go, to drop into the desk in front of her.

Used to his teasing she only replied with a disinterested, 'Uh huh,' and an appeasing nod of her head, as she dug through her bag for her notebook and a pen.

'You know,' James continued with a smirk, 'I wouldn't be surprised if you even looked good without any clothes at all.'

'James Potter!' she cried, taking no time to smack his arm in admonishment. 'You're such a - a boy!'

The blush creeping up her neck was all the encouragement he needed, and he clutched his arm pathetically where she'd hit him. 'Evans, you wound me! A boy, you say?! Maybe you do need those glasses, if you can't see that if I'm anything I'm a man. A _manly_ man at that.'

She shook her head at him in exasperation, but the corners of her lips were upturned, all the while reaching for her pen and uncapping it. He watched curiously as her green eyes narrowed, and she turned the pen on herself. 'Hand over my homework, or the jacket gets it,' she threatened cooly, the pen's tip hovering just above the blue fabric.

'Fine, fine,' relented James digging around in his backpack, 'Always such tense negotiations.'

...

James had always loved The Music Store, ever since he and Sirius first stepped into the shop after he'd moved to London when he was fourteen. He had always loved music, all kinds, every style, every instrument, and was already proficient in seven. It was no surprise that the store became his second home. He loved the cosy atmosphere, with the old rugs on the floor, the wide variety of instruments available to try, the practice rooms, how the place always smelled of tea and spices due to the owner's propensity for the drink, and more than anything James had loved the sight of the owner's daughter who played the piano in the back room the first time he'd visited.

The melody she'd played had drawn him further into the shop. He'd had no choice but to follow that day. When he'd gotten to the door, he stopped and listened as she sang along, her voice was beautiful and the song was one that stayed with you long after she'd stopped playing.

So being the confident young man his mother had raised him to be, he'd barged in. She'd been livid and he'd been stunned. The prettiest girl he'd ever seen was sitting at the piano, long red hair pulled over one shoulder, fair skin blushing in embarrassment, and bright green eyes livid.

She'd demanded he leave and to heed signs that said no admittance. But he didn't hear any of that, he just had to tell her how good she was. This sent her pretty face to a deeper shade of pink. He would learn later that she had horrible stage fright.

It was all just arguments and miscommunications after that which thankfully led he and Lily to become musical partners. So, James had accidentally stolen her song, the melody having just worked its way into him. For the first time in James' musical career he was able to produce something astounding, quickening the tempo to the song stuck in his head, and filling out the sound with a full band. He and Sirius made a video using the camera on their phones, and uploaded it to youtube.

Overnight James Potter was a internet sensation.

When Lily and Mary came barging in to a taping of a local talk show where James was going to be performing, accusing him of stealing her song, he'd finally realized where the inspiration had come from. He apologized of course and immediately set the record straight.

She'd thankfully forgiven him, and he'd felt an odd sense of pride when she'd gotten teary eyed about how much everyone loved her music. The idea of becoming partners came to him then. What could be more perfect? She was a songwriter who couldn't stand to be in front of people, and he was a singer and musician who loved to perform and could make an arrangement out of anything, but couldn't write an original song to save his life.

Lily'd been hesitant at first, but they'd been working together ever since.

With her help, James' popularity rocketed. His youtube channel got thousands of followers, all loving the songs Lily wrote for him. Another one of James' brilliant ideas that worked out swimmingly had come shortly after, when his lead guitarist got sick and Sirius stepped in to play during a live television performance. Due to Sirius' tenuous relationship with his bigoted aristocratic family, he usually preferred to stay behind the camera, and his' musical prowess had been honed in the classical genre, proficient in most stringed instruments and classical piano, rather than the pop/rock style James loved. But their natural chemistry and charisma on stage was electric. It was only too natural for Sirius to always perform with him, and despite no shared blood between them, their voices blended like they were brothers.

Then they met Remus Lupin. He was a music student who had just begun at the local college, and as fate would have it, had begun to frequent The Music Shop. James had noticed the new comer and had also noticed that he'd become friendly with Lily during her after school shifts, which immediately put James off him, ignoring her recommendation that the pretty boy could possibly be a 'brilliant bassist.' But then one day Remus happened to be around when James and Sirius had been working on an arrangement for a new song, and the sandy-haired boy had come over and recommended a different baseline, quickly grabbing a display guitar and plucking it out for them.

He was a brilliant bassist, stunningly brilliant, and he was actually a really nice bloke. Humble too, and had a wicked dry wit that left the boys in stitches. However, most importantly Remus had a girlfriend that he was very devoted to. So into the fold he came. It was Remus who recommended Peter Pettigrew as a drummer, a fellow music student.

That was how The Marauders were formed, and the music was elevated to a whole new level. James' youtube channel, that was now The Marauders official channel, reached over a million followers. Every girl had their favorite, either the handsome and charismatic frontman James Potter, the posh, dark and mysterious Sirius Black, the sensitive and intellectual Remus Lupin, or the lovable and agreeable Peter Pettigrew. Even their videos about their crazy antics that had no songs at all were getting hit after hit. There were talks of record deals, and MTV appearances. It was unbelievable and it was all thanks to Lily Evans.

She was what started it all. James thought she was brilliant and amazing, and tried to tell her that every chance he got. She truly was the fifth member of their band, and got along swell with all the lads pushing them continually create even better music. James knew she needed to share her brilliance with the world, but Lily always refused, too nervous to perform or even come on one of the Marauder's youtube videos. He'd been disappointed that he couldn't give her the confidence to put herself out there, but didn't push it, instead striking a deal with her that he could mention her on the videos, but not reveal her last name.

Of course when one hears James Potter talk about 'his friend Lily', anyone can tell there is something more there. The fans latched onto this mysterious and brilliant Lily, begging the boys in the comments to put their songwriter on the videos,asking if there was something going on between her and their frontman.

A particularly popular video that garnered these types of comments was one made by Sirius and Remus, telling the story of how James had accidentally given the lead guitarist a black eye. It was Sirius' bitter explanation that James had been too busy 'making jealous lovers eyes at Lily, who was talking to some bloke,' that caused James not to see Sirius sitting behind him, causing the lead singer to elbow him in the face. It didn't help when Remus chimed in appealing that James, 'just needed to snog her already and put everyone out of their misery.'

That got fans talking. Their viewership had doubled in three days after the video had gone viral.

James refused to comment on the questions and rumors about he and Lily, and although always blushing about the attention, she waved it off with a, 'people see what they want to see.'

It wasn't until this past summer, when the Marauders were in the studio recording their first fully produced album with their new record label, that things really got crazy. Peter had been documenting their recording sessions on his phone, catching little snippets of new songs, their sleep deprived antics, short interviews with each of the boys, and without realizing it Lily Evans.

Pete hadn't really thought about it when he was doing it. Lily was part of them. Of course she would be in the studio with them as they tweaked their songs, polished off riffs, sharpened up lyrics, and wrote more heart-rending bridges. They weren't them without her. So, she'd been recorded as she sat on the floor of the studio in a circle with James and Sirius working out harmonies, and when she fell asleep on a couch during a late night session and Remus covered her up with his jacket. Why would he think to edit her out of the footage of them all sharing greasy Chinese food straight from the carton while debating what their security code names would be if they ever _really made it_. Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail, obviously. But what really made an impression on the fans was the clip that Peter had secretly taped of Lily and James sitting side by side at the piano, playing a new song in perfect harmony as they sang together.

In the end, the hours of footage gathered from their month long recording session was artfully spliced together by the drummer, and set to instrumentation from their new album. It was a fun eight minute mini-documentary full of everything that encompassed who the band was, and Peter was rather proud of what he'd made. Too excited to share the incredible experience with the fans, Pete had uploaded his final edit to The Marauder's youtube channel at two AM on a hot Friday morning in late July.

* * *

 _MarauderGurl4eva - OMG! Is that THE lily?! She's so pretty, and just look at the way James looks at her! *dies* #jily #soulmates_

 _BackinSiriusBlack: That's definitely her! She's got red hair and everything! And she can sing!_

 _JPislyfe125: heart eyes. Heart eyes. Heart eyes. Make them kiss already! #icanteven #jily_

By Sunday the Marauder's steadily growing viewership suddenly hit twenty million, Lily Evans' face was an internet sensation, and #Jily was officially trending on twitter. The gobsmacked redhead was getting calls from record labels wanting to sign her as a recording artist, other's offering her more money than she thought possible, to stop writing for The Marauder's, and to write songs for their label instead.

* * *

Lily had been livid with Peter, with all of them really, abhorring the attention. She'd spent the following week ignoring their calls and refusing to speak with any of them until they'd all cornered her during her shift at The Music Shop. Peter, repentant and shame-faced, gave an impassioned apology, explaining that he hadn't meant to single her out, rather that she was a part of them, and they wouldn't be The Marauder's without her, and that she was brilliant and he'd just been so excited that he hadn't been thinking. Her pretty green eyes had swelled with tears when the rest of the boys had stood and agreed that she was one of them. She'd then squealed and laughed when they'd mauled her in a group hug, begging her not to leave them.

She'd never leave them, Lily promised. 'You boys are like my family.'

Although James had no desire for Lily to leave their team, he knew she was so much more than the songs she'd written for his band. She was a brilliant musician, lyricist, and had the voice of a mezzo-soprano angel. He'd heard some of the songs she'd written for herself, and they were _so good_. James would even find himself humming them when he was alone. Yet, no matter how many times James encouraged her to put herself out there, she would only blush and shake her head, her stage-fright always holding her back.

The boys did their part as well, showing her fan comments that praised her amazing singing voice and songwriting ability, (of course skipping over the comments about how she and James were perfect for each other), and slowly but surely, Lily started coming out of her shell.

Around that time James had been asked to sing a duet with Marlene McKinnon, a famous child actress turned singer, at the highly publicized Artists Against Cancer event. It was a prestigious invitation and everyone had been so proud. He'd only have a month to write a duet and have it ready to perform, so of course he'd asked Lily to write the song.

She'd agreed immediately, but insisted that James must write it with her, because despite the fact that he thought he was a terrible songwriter, he was actually getting rather good at it. When he argued the point, she'd cited that he'd basically co-written half the songs on The Marauder's album with her. How could he say no when she'd made him feel so brilliant?

So the pair had spent endless hours writing and scoring the duet. They poured their heart and souls into the song. For the next few weeks James' instagram was filled with scribbled journal entries and narrowed eyed photos of Lily, who had finally agreed to be involved in their social media presence, hashtagged as #brilliant and #slavedriver. All in the name of promoting the event and his performance.

To the Jily shippers delight, there were also some sneakily snapped photos of the pair snuggled next to each other on a piano bench, taken by Sirius Black. Remus Lupin had also posted a thirteen second snapchat video of James and Lily singing other-worldly harmonies together, and the most popular photo was surprisingly posted by Mary MacDonald who had come to meet Lily after a writing session and found the pair in a rather sweet embrace, having just perfected the song. Mary's instagram followers quadrupled after that.

* * *

Yes, the Jily fans were going nuts with such meat food.

Despite all refusals of the boys to comment further on the subject Tumblr was convinced it was love.

 _MyheartissetonJily: Did you hear them sing together? Our mortal ears are not worthy of their beautiful music!_

 _MrsJamesPotter22: And the way he hugged her?! Kill me now. Go git married!_

 _MarauderGurl4eva: They're both so beautiful...I might be too emotionally invested in this. *dead*_

* * *

During that time Lily even agreed to be on a few Marauder videos. The first titled, Tea with the Queen, and was Lily's first official introduction to The Marauder's fans. During this video, Sirius, Lily, and (due to Lily's insistence that she couldn't do it alone) Mary MacDonald played twenty questions over tea. It was actually a hilariously posh video. They'd all laughed, and Lily and Sirius' lovingly antagonizing relationship was on full display and the fans ate it up. Mary was a perfect addition to really help point out just how lovely Lily really was.

The viral moment was at the end of the four minute video, when Sirius said that his last two questions would be from the fans. Lily explained why she didn't post any of her own music for others to hear, and she quite sweetly admitted to her horrible stage fright, recounting her experience of forgetting song lyrics and falling off the stage in her primary school talent show. Of course the second question was if it were true that she and James fancied each other. Lily blushed the color of a strawberry and vehemently denied the claim. Stating that although James is lovely, they were strictly friends. She continued to nervously repeat that she in no way fancied James Potter while Sirius and Mary shared a knowing look behind her back, before mouthing 'total bollocks' and 'complete shite' to the camera.

* * *

 **Comments 1093**

MegaWatt (2 minutes ago)

Lily Evans is my spirit animal!

JPLE! (1 minute ago)

Yes, yes, YAS! Love this ginger!

BabyDear (3 minutes ago)

Jily for lyf

HungryliketheLupin (5 minutes ago)

Look at Black and Mary telling it like it is!

The only person that Lily has duped about her feelings for James is herself!

MarauderGurl4eva (10 minutes ago)

Lily's face at 03:42!

Love her. She is the only girl worthy of James Potter!

Just go kiss him already!

* * *

It was that video that had absolutely crushed James. Like a total masochist, he'd watched it over a hundred times, stupidly hoping that the ending would somehow miraculously change and she wouldn't seem so disgusted by the idea of being with him.

He was devastated for a while, quiet and moody around his friends, and completely avoiding a confused and hurt Lily. After a week of his moping, Sirius had finally tackled him to the ground and forced it out of him. James thought it was salt in the wound when Sirius laughed at his answer, but his friend had quickly explained that James was an idiot, and _of course_ Evans liked him.

James wouldn't hear it. How could he when Lily had denied she'd fancied him _twenty three times in a row_ on camera? No matter what Sirius said, James couldn't be convinced of anything other than that Lily Evans was completely out of his league, and he was hopelessly in love with her.

Hating to see his best mate this way, Sirius suggested that if it was that painful, maybe moving onto a different girl would help him get over Lily. James hadn't been too keen on the idea at first, but when Elliot Stebbins, 'just an old family friend of Lily's', who had once been a poncy twerp but had apparently transformed to a svelte rower, came into town for a week long visit, James realized that finding another girl was his only means of self preservation.

So he started hanging out with Georgia Jones, a girl from their school. She was in the class above them and very fit, if a bit vain. It barely worked, but she was very pretty and even a little relief from his heartache was nice, so James kept up with it.

Then it was the week of the Charity Concert. James spent two days in intense rehearsals practicing the duet with Marlene McKinnon, and though he and Lily had barely spoken since Elliot's visit, she dutifully came along.

Everyone loved the duet, and Lily was handed multiple business cards, encouraged to consider her own career. On the night of the benefit, Marlene McKinnon came down with a terrible case of laryngitis and was too sick to even lip sync her part. All eyes turned to Lily then, who was the only one who knew the song well enough to step in and sing it. Lily had outrightly refused, her face going ashen at the very idea of going up on stage, but when she found out if she didn't sing then James would be cut out of the program completely, she'd summoned the courage.

James had pulled her aside then, assuring her that she didn't have to sing if she didn't want to; that she was way more important to him than this opportunity. She'd looked like she was about to cry, and he thought he'd really fucked up, but she then smiled and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, murmuring something about how she'd missed him so much, and she'd already made up her mind to do it. Overwhelmed by her selflessness and the feeling of having her in his arms again, he'd held her closer and kissed her forehead, thanking her for being so brave.

'Just look at me and forget everyone else,' he'd told her, before they were separated off to go to hair and make-up.

James and Lily stole the show. Their voices were perfectly matched and the duet was unparalleled. James had gone out on stage first, introducing himself and explaining that Marlene McKinnon unfortunately was sick and unable to sing with him tonight.

"And though we're all really disappointed that Marlene can't be here, I've got a special treat to try and make up for it. Stepping into sing her part is the co-writer of this song, and a really, really close friend of mine. She's pretty nervous about this, so please show her some love while I welcome to the stage: Lily Evans!"

The crowd went crazy when Lily walked out into the spotlight. James could only remember one moment when he'd been prouder of her, and that was when they finished the song, and received a five minute standing ovation.

They bowed, and smiled, and waved before rushing off the stage on a complete high. Her career had soared after that. Her own youtube channel, an EP album, and a dedicated fanbase. They were all even going to tour together this summer once school let out.

However, what happened immediately after they'd made it backstage, James had been trying to make up for ever since.

...

Text received from: Lily Evans

Sent to: James Potter on Thursday March 17th, 08:33PM

LE: Hey James,

Just finished my homework.

I promise I'll bring your hoodie to you tomorrow.

Thanks for letting me wear it today. It's really comfy.

JP: of course you've finished, evans

haven't even started mine yet

and just give it back whenever

looks better on you anyway

LE: That's not true.

It's like your signature look.

Well, other than your glasses.

JP: speaking of!

YOU WEAR GLASSES!

i've known you now for over two years now

how did I just learn that today

you benedict arnold!

LE: ...Benedict Arnold, am I?

How does the fact that I prefer contacts make me a traitor on the international level?

JP: you've betrayed every person who proudly wears spectacles

namely: me

How cool would we look if we were both wearing glasses?

LE: YOU would look cool.

Your glasses are stylish and make you look intellectual.

… and a bit like a guy who's about to become a superhero.

Mine make me look nerdy and mousy...and give me bug eyes.

Ugh, I can't believe I even let you see me in them today.

JP: evans you're mad

you could wear a bin bag to school and it would look good

but i like all the compliments you just paid me

so i'll let it slide this one time

LE: Oh ho. How generous.

Mark my words, you will never see me in those glasses ever again.

JP: fine, consider them marked

but I think we're missing some really adorable music video opportunities

LE: speaking of! (see what I did there, these glasses are making me act like you.)

...What do you think of this whole 'rockumentary' idea?

I get that it could be good publicity for our tour this summer...

But I'm a little nervous about it. I can't act.

JP: you wish you could be this cool

the rockumentary could be fun

but will likely be embarrassing with Sirius and Mary in charge

also you can act

you act like a loon most of the time

it's very convincing

LE: ha. ha.

I am now going to act like someone who is ignoring you.

JP: Evans

JP: Lily…

JP: Lils…

JP: LIIILLLLLYYYYY!

PLEASE don't ignore me

then it will just be me and my homework and i'll die of boredom

DIE!

how could you live with yourself

LE: FINE! You're so dramatic.

You need to channel that energy into helping me.

I'm going to embarrass myself in front of everyone!

JP: i'm glad you've come to understand how empty your life would be without me

and of course i'll help you

but you don't need any help

you're always brilliant with everything you do

LE: You always say that.

JP: i always mean it

LE: Stop it.

JP: you love me

LE: I tolerate you.

JP: denying your true heart

very noble of you

LE: Potter.

JP: Evans…

LE: Do your homework.

...

Text received from: Lily Evans

Sent to: Mary MacDonald on Thursday March 17th, 09:17PM

LE: Maaarrrrryyyyy

MM: Code Potter is it then?

LE: Of course it is.

Ugh, I might need to leave the country.

I think it's the only way I'll ever stop fancying him.

Why does he have to be so perfect?!

He such a prat in that way.

MM: He does have perfect hair...and a nice jawline...and good shoulders

I'll give him that.

He and Sirius both.

All those boys are rather inconveniently blessed in the looks department.

LE: Mary, focus!

MM: Sorry.

What did he do this time?

LE:

 _but you don't need any help_

 _you're always brilliant with everything you do_

 _LE: You always say that._

 _JP: i always mean it_

 _LE: Stop it._

 _JP: you love me_

 _LE: I tolerate you._

 _JP: denying your true heart_

 _very noble of you_

MM: …

LE: What?

MM: He likes you.

LE: Mary.

MM: Lily.

LE: You know he thinks of us just as mates.

But he keeps being so sweet and charming…

and his abs are soooo pretty.

I'm doomed.

MM: But he KISSED you.

Like full on the lips

steal your breath away

Hands in your hair

Tongue in your mouth

Kissed

Believe me, I was there. It was romantically vomit-inducing.

LE: You don't have to remind me.

It's not like I still dream about it or exactly that.

But that was 8 MONTHS ago

and it was all just because we were on a performance high.

Need I remind you he started officially dating Georgia Jones immediately after?

MM: I know...I'm sorry.

Fuck Potter for hurting you.

It was all very out of character from his usual prattish-ness

LE: It's okay. It was a long time ago.

Besides, he apologized and everything.

We were both caught up in the moment.

MM: If it's any comfort he and Georgia didn't even last a month

and you're still music partners

really awesome music partners who make really awesome music.

LE: Yeah, yeah.

MM: ...so a big step back for operation: get over Potter?

LE: Had we made any progress to begin with?

MM: no. no, I don't believe we had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Again, I'm having so much fun writing this story. I just got stuck on the last part, and it took me a while to unstick it. I'm not totally happy with it, but it's time to proceed. If you are joining for the second chapter, you may have noticed a change in the name of the story. What can I say, sometimes you get inspiration after you post.

* * *

No one really knew exactly how long Minnie McGonagall had been in the business. There were pictures of her looking posh, polished, and ageless standing next to you a young Albus Dumbledore back at the beginning of his career. Rumor had it she'd been the one to get the Twisted Sisters signed to their first record label. She was apparently present for Wandless' first solo performance at The Snowy Owl. Minnie McGonagall was stuff of music business legend, known for her taste and ear for what was next, and even more impressively, what was good.

So of course she'd been keeping tabs on the young James Potter ever since a friend had sent her a link to his first self-released single. During her career, she'd seen enough fresh-faced secondary school boys with great hair and a fine voice to know that James Potter was something different. He just needed a little maturity, and Minnie had smiled smugly when she'd heard that James had the wherewithal to form a band without need for suggestion, and that it was not just a band he'd created, but a brotherhood. The boys were uncannily in sync with each other, and each one brought with him expertise, musical creativity, and what every manager and publicists hopes for, a handsome face.

She'd never tell the foursome that she'd requested to be their manager when The Marauder's had first signed with Phoenix Rising Records. Sure, there were times that Minnie lamented taking on the careers of four boisterous young men, especially so late in her own career, but then she'd see them perform together and remember why she did in the first place, because they were too good to not have the best; and the best was synonymous with Minerva McGonagall. She knew how to run a tight ship, when to be stern, and when to be gentle. She sometimes felt like their mother, which made her cringe at times, but at other times, it made her exceedingly proud. She knew they respected her, and they knew she truly cared.

Some would say that the boys were Minnie's achilles heel. That the handsome young gents knew just how to charm her so they could get away with anything, but those people were blind fools. Anyone who had any brains could see that she knew just how to manage them. No, if Minerva McGonagall actually had a soft spot (which many would argue against), it would be for Lily Evans.

In the course of her illustrious career Minerva hadn't made much time for relationships. She'd had her dalliances with a small list of famous men, as one does, but she'd never married, never finding the sense in it when her life was so busy. For that reason she'd never had any children of her own, but she thought if she'd ever had a daughter, she might be a lot like the young song writer.

The girl was bright, sensible, talented, and most aptly, had no qualms going toe to toe with any of the boys. Minerva liked her work ethic and sense of responsibility. She was an asset in the studio and, thankfully, not what she considered most teenage girls to be, silly. There was something about the redhead that made you want to protect her. It was plain to see in her relationships. All the boys were constantly looking out for her, and her best friend Mary MacDonald, a real whip of a girl, was fiercely protective. Lily would do anything for those she cared about, and it instilled in them a strong sense of loyalty to her.

Yes, Minnie had become quite fond of the redhead. The only aspect of the younger girls' character that could exasperate the older woman was Lily's allowance and to let James Potter wind her up. It was as if the redhead had no choice but to rise to his baiting, despite being able to keep herself from joining into other petty arguments with _anyone_ else. This was of course to the great amusement of their friends, and to the despair of the manager, who had stepped in more than once to break up a tiff when the two were supposed to be working.

The pair were an interesting duo, a straight-laced girl and a perpetual rebel rouser coming together to create fantastic music. Now, Minerva was no slack, and she had lived long enough to understand what was bubbling under the surface; attraction, flirtation, unerring loyalty. For months she had watched the pair dance around their feelings, and she knew it would only be a matter of timing.

It came as no surprise to anyone that when Lily finally overcame her fears and showed the world her talents it was for James Potter. Of course, in true teenage fashion, when all inhibitions were stripped away and long-felt feelings were acted upon, it ended up being a total mess of emotions, blunders, and a few good cries (from both parties) in her office.

Minerva had mercifully not been present backstage at the Artists Against Cancer event. She didn't like to trifle in the personal affairs of her clients, and having heard what happened she likely would have likely boxed James Potter's ears for his lack of self-control. Instead, she'd been informed by their respective best-friends who had been there to witness the private moment. Mary MacDonald was able to give a pretty accurate, if not overly detailed, account of just what had gone on between the lead-singer and the soon to be rising star, and why the nearly inseparable pair were now not speaking.

Young love could be so... irritating.

But luckily, James Potter was what Minerva considered to be, 'raised right,' and after a heartfelt and sincere apology that just so happened to take place right outside her office door, leaving the older woman trapped without any choice but to overhear, he was able to gain Lily's forgiveness and after a few weeks of awkwardness they were back to their old ways.

Yes, Lily Evans was meant for greatness, just like her male counterpart. Now it was up to McGonagall to heard them like cats toward success, and just maybe something even more important than that.

…

In the hands of the Marauders, the faux rockumentary quickly evolved into ten, five to six minute webisodes chronicling their entire journey into fame, starting at James and Lily's first meeting ending at the beginning of the tour that summer. A video would be released every other week until their first concert.

The six of them had taken over the couches at The Music Shop one afternoon, brainstorming ideas and project planning. It was all rather clever marketing and Lily knew she and Mary would have fun working with the boys, but she still was still a bit hesitant to try her hand at acting, even if she was supposed to be acting like herself.

It was when she voiced her concern and James joked that even _he_ could act like her that a good idea became genius. The frontman quickly proved his point by doing a rather spot on impression of the redhead, leaving the couch chuckling. But all credit for final vision of the webisodes is attributed to Lily who came back with her own impression of the lead singer, complete with the pushing up of imaginary glasses and his near obsessive habit of messing up his already perpetually crazy hair, which had the group in tears and laughing until their sides hurt.

It was clenched then. Everyone would be acting in the webisodes but they'd all be playing each other, complete with costumes and wigs for each 'character'. They worked together to figure out everyone's signature look, and Peter's final list looked like this:

James Potter - Black wig that looks like a bird's nest, glasses, zip-up hoodie

Lily Evans - Long red-haired wig, floral dress

Sirius Black - Long black haired wig, leather jacket

Mary MacDonald - Brown wig with bangs, purple shirt, perpetual _I could murder_ you look on face

Remus Lupin - Sandy blonde wig, cardigan, cup of tea in hand

Peter Pettigrew - Brown wig, striped shirt, drumsticks in back pocket

Even Lily had to admit that the plan was hilarious. They then started working out which events would be included in ten videos, with the plan to have the last video to be a live stream ending with the first song at the opening concert of tour. Lily took down notes for she and Mary, and Sirius, insisting that he was the official secretary of the Marauder's, took notes for the band. Below is a side by side comparison of the respective lists.

James and Lily Meeting/ _The Lovers Meet_

The Talk Show Showdown/ _The first time Evans almost murdered James, while MacDonald looked smokin hot._

Lily and James become musical partners/ _The Second Best Thing that Ever Happened to James Fleamont Potter_

Sirius joining the band/ _The First Best Thing that Ever Happened to James Fleamont Potter_

Remus and Peter joining the band/ _The Brotherhood is forged._

The Marauders' performing at Times Square for New Years' Rockin Eve/ _The time Lily kissed James on the cheek and he wouldn't bloody shut up about it for MONTHS, also known as the day Peter tossed his cookies on Minnie's shoes and was also almost murdered._

Signing with Phoenix Rising/ _COOLEST DAY OF OUR LIVES_

James and Lily working on and performing for Artists Against Cancer/ _An entire nauseating month of flirting and shit followed by an admittedly kick ass performance_

Lily signing with Phoenix Rising _/Fucking. Finally._

First performance of tour/ _FIRST PERFORMANCE OF LE TOUR DE RESISTANCE!_

The first video was a total success. James looked hilarious in the red wig and the second-hand shop floral dress that was large enough to fit over his clothes. Also, since James couldn't wear his glasses and refused to consider contacts, he ran into things left and right all the while pretending to be an outraged Lily.

The true redhead was no slouch either. Egged on by James' ridiculous impression of her, Lily, clad in James' zip-up hoodie that she'd yet to return, an oversized pair of glasses, and the most ridiculous wig, which was actually part hair-piece, part spray-painted bird's nest, had a hayday imitating her music partner, constantly teasing and hitting on her counterpart, while also bringing attention to 'how absolutely brill' he was at everything.

The best part was James and Lily's complete inability to keep going without stopping and arguing with each other about how things had gone that fateful day.

'I did _not_ gape at you like a fish when I entered the room!'

'Well, I didn't ' _faint at the sight of your handsome face'_ either!"

"And I don't flip my hair over my shoulder _that_ much."

'Come on, surely, I didn't make you listen to me play every instrument in the shop... No, wait. I did do that. You're right. Carry on."

It was all too funny to edit out, so the final cut ended up being a full eight minutes. The whole thing was shot on the cameras on their phones at The Music Shop, to keep everything authentic, and true to Marauder video form. At one point on the webisode, the frame shook so bad from Sirius' laughter, that Mary took over filming, and their quiet bickering can be heard in the background if you turn the volume up all the way.

* * *

 **Comments** 24221

 **LilyEvansIsMySpiritAnimal** (2 minutes ago)

This is hilarious! THE COSTUMES, THEIR IMPRESSIONS, THE BICKERING, I'M DYING!

 **MarauderGurl4eva** (7 minutes ago)

Their chemistry is out of this world!

 **SoundtrackofmyLife** (11 minutes ago)

Guys, go to minute 06:27 and turn the vol all the way up! You can hear Sirius Black and Mary MacDonald arguing over how much the camera is shaking, but it turns into an row over who has the shinier hair! Blackdonald is my (second) OTP!

* * *

The second video was even more popular. Most of the Marauder's fans had heard a recounting of the time when Lily had confronted James right before his performance on the Ellen Show, but it was never so entertaining when reenacted by the Lily, Mary, James and Sirius.

This time to change things up, Mary and James played each other, and Lily and Sirius played each other, which added a unique take on the events of the day. The comedy was also increased by the fact that on that fateful day, Mary had come straight from her ballet rehearsal to join Lily's crusade, and James, who quickly likened himself to ' _a young Daniel Day-Lewis,'_ happily agreed to wear a tutu along with 'macdonald staple,' a purple shirt.

It started out brilliantly, James and Sirius (playing the girls), doing their most ridiculous plotting of how they would take down the _devilishly handsome and brilliant_ James Potter. The girls retaliated by being as melodramatic as possible. Mary's James spending the entire first part of the video looking at himself in a mirror, while Lily's Sirius continually brushed his shoulder length black hair and sighed, while using absurdly posh words like _beastly_ and _jolly good_. Despite its promising start, the whole thing quickly devolved once the four came together, and Mary and Sirius had their versions of James and Lily bickering and flirting like a couple of lovesick teenagers.

Affronted by their lack of accurate representation the pair started in on Sirius and Mary's habit of flirting while debating the important issues of the day, including, who has better hair, who has read the most classic literature, and of course which one was a better best friend. It all ended with a bit of a brawl and the destruction of their makeshift set, which was actually pretty accurate to how the real events of the day ended.

As you can imagine twitter blew up at the posting of this video.

* * *

 _ **MaraudersNumberOne**_ _\- If you're not watching The Marauders' webisodes you're living a half life! Even their best friends ship Jily! It's cannon bitches! #JILY #blackdonald #themarauders #missmarymac_

 _ **OlBackDonaldhadaFarmville**_ _\- I didn't know I needed James Potter in a tutu until today. #thisisthebestdayofmylife_

 _ **JillyorDeath41**_ _\- ATTENTION WORLD: The J vs. L webisode is even better than the last! Their chemistry is off the cherts! #PSA #JILY_

Concert tickets for their tour sold out within the first hour of sale.

* * *

"Look, I'm just trying to help," assured Mary, as the two girls gathered at Lily's locker at the end of the school day.

"I don't know how pointing every boy in sixth form in my direction is considered helping, but it's not working, and it's getting really awkward," Lily explained to her skeptical friend. She'd had to fake a disease when Terry Hunter had asked her out earlier that day, when after politely turning him down, he said he'd settle for an article of her clothing.

The memory of the uncomfortable interaction was still making her skin crawl.

"Yeah, sorry bout that one. Who knew Terry Hunter was a pervy little creep?" Mary apologized with a look of disgust. "But," she defended, "this is a two fold plan that is sure to see success. It will either, one: make Potter jealous enough to finally admit that he's madly in love with you, or two: help you meet a bloke that will finally get you over him." Mary's eyebrows bobbed in suggestion. "See? Genius."

Lily tucked a her hair behind her ears, before responding, "That plan is shite, because one: Potter would have to have romantic feelings towards me in order to be jealous and two: I already know all the other boys in this school and they are shite."

Mary considered this for a moment, before replying, "True. But, no need to worry, part one of the plan is going to work. And besides you agreed that we needed to change tactics for mission: G. O. P."

Despite Mary's confidence, Lily wasn't at all convinced that this new plan wouldn't blow up in her face, but she had agreed that something had to change. Her pining was getting a little ridiculous, and they had an entire tour to get through when summer hols began. "Fine, but if I catch Hunter sniffing around my gym bag, you're the one who's going to have to scare him off."

"Deal," agreed Mary happily, and the pair headed down the corridor towards the gymnasium where they were meeting James and Sirius. They were shooting part of the next webisode after school that day and due to the success of their previous performances, the boys were going to be playing she and Mary again.

For all of her initial misgivings, it had been a lot of fun working on the rockumentary so far. There'd already been a really positive response from the fans and tickets for their first tour were selling rapidly. They were working on the third video now, which had two scenes, Lily and Mary discussing whether she should agree to work with James, and James and Lily agreeing to be music partners.

That time in Lily's life was all such a blur, some of it she could remember vividly and other parts were a complete whirlwind. That's how it always was with James, easy to get swept up in his enthusiasm. Luckily, Mary had a far better memory of the events, and was able to slap together a quick script for the boys.

They reached the gym, where James and Sirius were participating in a pick-up game of footie. The girls stood on the sidelines watching and Lily worried she might start openly salivating as she watched James play. He looked like a intellectualized bronzed god, in his disheveled school uniform with his sleeves rolled up, showing off his very god-like forearms.

She really knew better than to watch him play footie, it always made her dim in the head. When it came to watching James playing sports, Lily was a weak and wretched woman, and should really apologize to Eleanor Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart, and Joan of Arc while she's at it, for letting a fit boy turn her into a puddle of goo.

It certainly didn't help her get over him, when he scored a goal and while jumping around with his overly enthusiastic team, he pointed right at her, dedicating the point to her honor. He could be so cheesy, and she was so hopeless. However, she didn't feel too guilty when she turned to see her best friend staring rather openly at Sirius Black's arse.

She cleared her throat and Mary jolted. "Right," agreed the brunette giving her head a little shake, her eyes still a bit glassy. "You think we could get them to agree to wear bags over their heads?"

"And their arses?"

Mary shot her a glare and Lily hid her smirk.

The game soon ended and the boys came over.

"Impressed, MacDonald?" Sirius asked smugly, as they approached.

Mary snorted. "Yeah, you're decent at footie. Can we get on with the rockumentary now?" appeased an annoyed Mary MacDonald.

" _Decent?!"_

Lily rolled her eyes as the two quickly descended into bickering and turned her attention to James. "Did you see my goal?" he asked excitedly, his arm reaching toward her.

"You know I did, and stop fishing," she ordered, ducking away from his grasp.

James stopped short, a dramatic hand over his heart, "You wound me, Evans. I risk life and limb to score a goal for you, and now you won't even embrace your selfless hero?"

"Selfless? I think you received _plenty_ of glory for your pickup game goal, and you're all sweaty," she whinged, but was secretly excited to see his hazel eyes narrow and a smirk appear on his lips. Why was she so determined to move on from him again?

Lily barely had time to move back when he swooped, and just like she'd hoped he would, he grabbed her round the waist and hauled her against his chest, swinging her around. Lily yelped, and 'fought' against his grip, all the while thrilling at being in his arms. She was a wanton. She'd roll around with a sweaty James Potter any day.

He set her back on the ground, but kept an arm over her shoulder, and she allowed it because Lily had no shame apparently. "So what's this I hear of Terry Hunter harassing you at your locker?" he asked, as they headed out of the gym. Lily was surprised that he'd heard about it at all, and didn't miss Mary catching her eye, and mouthing an enthusiastic, 'see!'

Lily pointedly ignored this and answered, "Yeah, it was a bit odd. He asked me to go to the local pet shop with him to look at the amphibians, and when I told him I didn't see him that way -"

"As an amphibian?"

"James."

"Because he does have some toad-like qualities-"

"James."

"Sorry, go on."

"Well, he asked for an article of my clothing. I had to be surprisingly firm with my denial. I considered giving him a sock just to make him go away."

James pulled a face, "a bit pervy."

"That's what Mary said."

"Well, never fear. You and your clothes are safe with me," James comforted, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

They all settled into the music room where they were planning to shoot the scene. After a few minutes, Mary handed out the scripts.

"Alright, let's do a read through, then we'll film," Mary instructed. The boys were better if they weren't too rehearsed.

James and Sirius, sat on the couch, the former with his legs tucked under him, and and Sirius sitting with perfect posture across from him. Lily, looked down at herself and immediately pulled her legs out from under her.

Script in hand, Lily read along as the boys began the scene.

"What are you going to do about James?" asked Sirius' Mary.

"I don't know," read James, doing his best impression of Lily. "He's so handsome I can hardly think-"

"Stick to the script," came the united voices of Lily and Mary. A common phrase used when James and Sirius were in a scene together.

James just smiled, but did as he was told, reading, "I don't know. I mean he sounded great singing my song, and it was so cool to hear it performed live, but …"

"And he did the right thing by giving you the credit you deserved… geeze MacDonald, this is how you guys talk when we're not around?" Sirius added, looking up from the script. "You're welcome for being the only interesting thing in your lives." This earned him a rather lewd hand-gesture from the brunette.

"Fine, fine," he appeased. "I'm just saying if the dialogue was going to be this boring, the scene would be far more interesting if we were sunbathing in bikinis."

"This is true," James agreed.

"Stick to the script!"

Chuckling, James looked back down for his next line. "That was unexpected," he started, and sent Lily a sharp look at the past-jab. She merely shrugged innocently. "I'm still not sure. After all, Sev thinks he's a…

James trailed off, and Lily felt her cheeks flame and stomach plummet. Why on earth had Mary put Severus Snape in the scene?

The atmosphere changed rapidly, enough so that Mary looked up from her script. "Um, on second thought, let's just skip to the last page…" she suggested frantically after seeing her panicked friend, and in an attempt to do some damage control she reached forward to try to flip James' script off of the offensive page. He pulled it out of her reach.

But Lily knew it was too late, her eyes had already skimmed what Mary had written, and to her horror it was almost exactly what Lily had said over two years ago.

James face was ashen, as he stood from the couch, reading aloud, "After all, Sev thinks he's a self-absorbed, talentless, attention seeking jerk. I don't know, _maybe he's right?_ " James looked at Lily then, absolutely destroyed.

"James-"

But she was cut off as he continued, "I mean, he can't even write his own songs... Wow, Evans."

Lily spluttered to find a response, "No! That's not at all how I feel!"

"You didn't say any of this, and Mary made it all up?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, I mean…"

"Yep, every word," agreed a desperate Mary. "Just wanted to spice up a boring conversation."

Although she appreciated her friend taking the heat for the blunder, Lily wouldn't lie her way out of this. She let out a defeated sigh. "I probably said something along those lines at that time, but we didn't even know each other then!" she defended. "And I was pretty sure you'd stolen my song, _and_ you embarrassed me on live television."

"You know I didn't realize it was your song."

"I know that _now,_ but, come on, of course I had doubts about being your partner at first. Back then all I knew about you was what Sev had told me." Lily froze, having heard the words that just came out of her mouth, desperate to swallow them back.

James reeled as if she'd slapped him, looking even more betrayed. "Right, Snape. You two have a nice time laughing about me behind my back?"

"What? No! How could you even think that?"

"What else am I supposed to think? I thought my music partner had some respect for me, but now I learn that you thought I was a," he read straight from the script, "a self-absorbed, talentless, attention-seeking jerk."

"James, you know I think you're brilliant. I was a idiot… I was fourteen years old!"

"No, I was the idiot."

"James, please."

"Maybe you should have stuck with Snape."

"James!" gasped Mary.

Now Lily felt like he'd smacked her. "How can you say that after all we've been through?"

James shook his head, his hurt etched all over his handsome face. "I don't know. I don't know how I can even look at you right now." With that he stormed out of the room. Lily felt like she was going to be sick. She felt guilty and wretched, and hurt and angry all at once. Blinking back tears, she went to follow after him.

Sirius caught her arm.

"Let me talk to him."

"Sirius, you know I didn't mean it."

"I know," he assured her gently. "He does too. You know how sensitive he is about all this; you and Snape, and song writing."

Lily nodded.

"Just give him some time. He'll come around." He let go of her and headed off after his friend.

* * *

If there was a fly in the ointment that was James Potter and Lily Evans' friendship and musical partnership, it was Severus Snape. It usually came as quite a shock to the fans of both Severus Snape and Lily Evans, that the two very different musicians had grown up together and had been childhood friends.

It is also a little known bit of trivia that James Potter, Severus Snape, and Lily Evans all went to the same secondary school for a year, and it was even more interesting to learn that during that time the two boys had traded words and blows over Lily Evans.

Lily and Severus had met during the time Severus' father had had an on again off again job working in the Selby's down the road from Mr. Evans' Music Shoppe, and when his mom was too indisposed to watch him, the young boy was dragged along to the the grocery and told to stay out of trouble.

After a nine year old Severus had wandered into the shop, they'd quickly become friends. She and Sev both loved music, and could sit for hours in each other's company, working on mastering whatever instrument intrigued them, for Lily it had been the piano, for Sev it was the acoustic guitar. They had fun, and Lily took pride in making the boy who never smiled happy.

Their friendship became more complicated as they grew older. Lily watched as his home life grew more volatile and Severus grow more angry. He became jealous as she made new friends.

"They're not good enough for you, Lily."

Something she'd heard him say repeatedly during their time together. He became needier, wanting her to check in with him, and started hanging out with a bad crowd that lived in his neighborhood. She couldn't understand how Sev could be friends with such racist bigots, but he assured her that she just didn't understand the nuances of what they stood for.

"But my mother is an immigrant!"

"No, but you're different, Lily."

"Why? Because my skin is the right shade?"

She wanted to believe him. He couldn't be like those terrible people. Sometimes she got glimpses of the boy she'd known, and when things got really bad she kept reminding herself that he'd been the only one there for her when her mother had passed away when she was twelve, while her father was lost in his grief and her older sister became horrible.

She made excuse after excuse, while his hate and anger started making its way into his music.

His youtube videos were gaining a lot of popularity among a certain crowd.

She started spending less time with him, and more time with her girl friends, who were supportive, and didn't need her to apologize if she wasn't always available. Then James Potter transferred to their school in fourth year. Lily couldn't count the times Sev had complained about the new kid. She knew that some of Severus' annoyances were driven by jealousy. James was wealthy, attractive, popular, good in school and at sports, and even more threatening, he was a good musician, but Lily had noticed that he was also loud and confident, and sometimes kind of ridiculous. Maybe Sev wasn't completely off the mark. They did spend a lot more in classes together than Lily.

Everything Severus had told her about James seemed confirmed after she'd met him and she thought he stole her song, but the more time she spent in James' company the more off she felt on her stance. Sure he was loud and confident and _absolutely_ ridiculous, but he was also genuine and funny. He was loyal and actually kind of a gentleman. He listened to her, and yes, he teased her mercilessly, but she always left her time with James feeling happy, and not anxious like she did with Sev.

Severus sensed her shifting opinion and maybe even her growing attraction to James, sparking a huge row. The fight was about everything to Lily; Sev's racist ideology, his controlling nature, his bullying and hateful words. To Severus it was about the one thing that represented everything he didn't have, James Potter. During their heated exchange he tried to kiss her, and when Lily pushed him away he'd called her the worst name you could call a girl. That was it. Lily was finally done making excuses.

It took James a long time to figure out why Lily had ever given Snape the time of day. The slimy git was a bully, a racist, and he had disliked him from day one. He knew there was history there, that they'd been friends since they were really young, and Lily claimed he hadn't always been that way, but James couldn't see it. It killed him the day he found Lily crying after Snivellus had called her that awful name, and it had taken every ounce of his self control not to find Snape and punch him in the face.

She was this ray of sunshine, and James hated that Snape had the ability to dull her vibrance. James knew that some of his animosity towards Severus was based in jealousy. He was jealous of their past together, the intimacy they once shared, and the favoritism she once bestowed on the greasy haired boy.

He could ignore most of Snape's taunting but the repeated reminders that Lily was too good for him, and that he was dragging her down, ate away at him. Because Snape was right, she was too good for him, and maybe he was dragging her down and he was just biding his time until she realized it too. James wasn't proud that he would sometimes bite back, calling Snape a greasy git and getting the nickname Snivellus to catch on. It wasn't until Snape started harassing Lily, texting her repeatedly and following her home that things that things got physical.

When James confronted Snape warning him to leave her alone, Snape lashed out threatening that he and his racist idiot friends had been keeping an eye on Remus Lupin, who better watch his back, and that Lily was just a fame-loving whore. James served his first detention later that day sporting a bruised hand and jaw. Snape served detention with a bleeding lip and a black eye. He would go on to be expelled two weeks later,along with five of his friends, for defacing school property with racial slurs.

And that was the end to the saga of Severus, James and Lily. Except every now and then if you scroll to the bottom of one of the Marauder's videos you can find one of Snape's comments insulting the band, or he'll tweet out something rude about James and the lads. A more well known social media interaction between them happened on twitter right after Lily dropped her EP album.

* * *

 **Sev Snape** severussnape - 8h

themaraudersofficial, The Marauders owe all their success to lilyjevans. Without her they're just a bunch of talentless hacks. Link: lilyevanshellosunshineEP #lilyevans #hellosunshineEP

 **The Marauders** themaraudersofficial - 6h

We couldn't agree more. Link: lilyevanshellosunshineEP #lilyevans #hellosunshineEP

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AN: I've been really enjoying fitting the Jilyverse into this format. I wanted to keep the whole snape situation brief but I felt like it needed some more context. Let me know what you think!


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